Field
This application relates generally to an eye examination template. More particularly, embodiments of the subject matter relate to an eye examination template for observing and measuring an optic disc or other features of a fundus of an eye.
Background Technology
Generally, a human eye has an anterior segment and a posterior segment that is a front and a back of the eye, respectively. The main structures of the anterior segment include, but are not limited to, a cornea, an iris, and a lens. A pupil of the eye is a “window” to the posterior segment. The pupil is an opening in a center of the iris, and the larger the pupil the easier it is to view the back of the eye (the posterior segment) and view an inside of the back of the eye. The inside of the back of the eye is otherwise known as the fundus of the eye. The fundus includes, but is not limited to, a retina, an optic disc, and a macula. Generally, the retina is a light-sensitive layer of tissue that forms nerve impulses that, once received and processed by the brain, form visual images.
The nerve impulses are sent to the back of the brain (the visual cortex located in the occipital lobe) via an optic nerve and an optic tract. The optic disc is a point of exit for neurons leaving the eye representing the beginning of the optic nerve, and is also is an entry point for blood vessels to and from the retina. The optic disc can comprise a central depression therein, which is commonly known as a cup. This cup can be associated with the degenerative disease glaucoma.
Eye specialists and other professionals commonly observe the fundus of the eye through visual examination or photography to detect and observe various medical signs, such as hemorrhages, exudates, cotton wool spots, blood vessel abnormalities, lesions, and pigmentation. Observation of various characteristics of the fundus can also be used to diagnose various other medical conditions. For example and without limitation, a ratio of a size of the cup to a size of the optic disc, which is commonly known as the cup-to-disc ratio, can be used to diagnose glaucoma.
Despite the benefits, variability in the eye's anatomy and variability in an examiner's judgment reduce the overall reliability and effectiveness of eye examinations of the fundus. In particular, because the anatomy of the eye can vary from person to person depending on various factors such as race, gender, and other demographic characteristics, diseases, etc., there will be variations in what a “normal” eye should look like. Furthermore, because most routine eye examinations rely on observational judgment and estimation of the examiner, which are based on experience and other human factors that can vary from examiner to examiner, a judgment or estimate made by one examiner is not necessarily the same judgment that will be reached by a different examiner.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.